18 || PURGATORY

It turns out that Purgatory was a hundred times worse than the show made it out to be. The sickly looking forest was endless and filled with rotting corpses. The strong stench of blood in the air was enough to make anyone's stomach churn and the constant monsters meant that Vanessa hadn't stopped running since she landed there.

"Can you teleport yet?" Vanessa asked, breathlessly, to the demon inside her head. Her orange hair, now stuck together with the blood of a vampire who'd gotten a little too close, was hitting against her back as she ran as fast as she could through the thick trees.

"I'm still weakened from the blast." Crowley replied, seeing everything Vanessa did through her eyes and feeling useless for not being able to help. "I can't do much of anything I'm afraid."

"If I find this portal, the one into Hell, will it help you?" Vanessa breathed out, stopping next to a tree to catch her breath. Luckily she'd managed to find a Purgatory native weapon laying around and was now white knuckling the handle, otherwise she wouldn't have even dreamt about stopping.

"Hopefully." Crowley sighed, feeling the burn in Vanessa's lungs as she slumped down against the tree, unable to stand anymore should her legs give out from under her.

It had been about three days since Vanessa killed Dick Roman. Since he'd grabbed hold of her and her demon roommate and dragged them both to Purgatory with him, and she was exhausted. There were some benefits to having Crowley in her head though, it meant that she didn't need to sleep, eat or drink much due to the demon blood coursing through her veins. So it wasn't all bad.

"You need to keep moving, darling, it's not safe to stop." Crowley told her, ignoring the groan of annoyance she let out over his words.

"I can't." Vanessa groaned again, her head falling forwards to rest on her knees. "I'm dying."

"You're not dying, you're just dramatic." Crowley tutted, the actual tut making Vanessa's head feel weird and she shivered.

"Ugh, I was meant to keep people out of coming here, not throw myself in." Vanessa sighed, throwing her head back which unfortunately smacked against the tree as she didn't realise how fast she'd moved.

"Ow."

"Trust Dick Roman to pull me along with him... Really living up to his name. Now I'm stuck in here and Sam is probably out in the real world, hitting dogs with his car and shacking up with vets." Vanessa complained, covering her face with her hands. She knew that was highly unlikely given the fact that Dean was there, but it still didn't make her feel any better.

"Hitting dogs with his car? Like, on purpose?"

"No not on- Ugh, never mind that... I just need to get out of here." Vanessa took a deep breath before she pulled herself off the ground and continued to move. Her aching limbs begged for rest but she didn't give in, she needed to find that portal before she encountered more monsters than her small self could handle.

"Sam isn't going to end up with Amelia, not when he has you." Crowley said softly as Vanessa trudged through the trees, her light blue jeans now turned a reddish brown due to the mix of blood and mud surrounding her.

"Didn't I tell you to stay out of my thoughts?" Vanessa shot back, pulling her jacket tight across her chest as a sharp chill shot down her spine. Believe it or not there was still weather in Purgatory, and she was just thankful it wasn't raining.

Despite how much she normally loved the rain, it would have probably pushed her over the edge.

"Moose has probably locked himself in the bunker and is working frantically to try and get you out of here." Crowley added, ignoring Vanessa's last comment and doing his best to keep her spirits up, which was hard to do with someone so stubborn.

"Oh please, he didn't even look for Dean and Cas while they were here... And they were here for an entire year." Vanessa mumbled, kicking a small stone in front of her and watching as it rolled through the leaves. "Although I just like to think of that as bad writing."

"You know as well as I do that those two flannel wearing idiots will be driving themselves crazy looking for you." Crowley replied, if he knew the Winchesters, which he liked to think he did, then he had no doubt in his mind that they'd be running on no sleep and living off hot dogs as they tried to find their beloved Irish friend.

"They better be." Vanessa mumbled. She'd like to think that after all she'd done for the brothers that they'd at least look for her. "At least this time you aren't out there kidnapping prophets."

"Come again?"

"Never mind." Vanessa sighed, there was no point wasting her breath when she knew Crowley would go rooting around inside her memories anyway. Which is exactly what he did.

"Why is this box locked?" Crowley asked, most likely talking about the memories Chuck had hidden away from Lucifer, which must be locked for everyone bar him and Vanessa.

"There are some things that God doesn't want his son seeing." Vanessa replied, hoisting herself over a rather thick tree trunk that was wedged between two trees and blocking her path.

"Care to share?"

"No."

"Rude. And here I thought we were bonding." Crowley muttered, continuing to root around inside Vanessa's head, just for something to do. Although he soon started to regret that when he came across memories revolving around a certain red haired witch. "Mother?"

"Ah, stumbled into season 10, I see." Vanessa said humorously, honestly that's what he gets for invading her thoughts. "You mother became quite the fan favourite, myself included."

"I find that hard to believe." Crowley scoffed, continuing to weave his way through everything Rowena related. Mainly the early stuff, when she was in her villain era, so to speak. "I see she still enjoys manipulating people, not surprised."

"Your mother went through a lot, Crowley, more than you know." Vanessa began, feeling as Crowley pushed past the Rowena memories. "I know that's no excuse for abandoning you, but you should know that she did love you."

Crowley stayed quiet, but Vanessa could tell her words got to him. If it hadn't been for the strange warmth she felt over her body, the one that definitely didn't come from her, then it was his lack of witty retort that gave him away.

"In the end she sacrificed herself to save the world, to save Sam and Dean. But really I think she wanted the chance to redeem herself, little did she know she'd already done that long before what happened, happened." Vanessa continued, something telling her Crowley wanted to know more despite him not saying anything. "After that she became the Queen of Hell... I'm guessing a MacLeod was always meant to have the throne."

Vanessa went on to tell Crowley more about the Rowena she knew, and the one she'd grown to love. If anyone saw Vanessa during her trek through the forest they'd think she was crazy the way she was talking to herself, but thankfully it was a little while before they came across anyone.

"Be quiet." Crowley shushed as Vanessa was mid way through complaining about the British Men of Letters. "I hear something..."

"Ominous." Vanessa mumbled but she did was she was told and hushed, slowing down the pace at which she was walking. Her Purgatory weapon held in front of her, Vanessa came to a full stop, just as three vampires stepped out from behind the trees in front of her.

"A human... Been a while since I saw one of those." The middle one, a brunette man, said as he practically licked his teeth, making Vanessa scrunch up her nose.

"Easy does it there, fellas." Vanessa chuckled out warily, her hands held up in front of her as she slowly backed away. All while they stalked closer to her, their fangs at the ready.

"Perhaps running is in order." Crowley said in her head, making Vanessa scoff out before she replied.

"Haven't you seen Twilight? I'm not gonna be able to outrun them." She muttered, barely hearing Crowley sigh, at yet another movie reference, over the sound of her own heart beating. "I'll just fight them, how hard can it be?"

"Darling, you're five foot four, that may not end well."

"Coming from the demon who chose to possess a vessel that's like five eight." Vanessa scoffed out, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the handle of her weapon. She hadn't noticed the furrowed brows of the vamps, who must have thought she was talking to herself as they couldn't quite make out the words.

"Now's not the time to get smart, Vanessa." Crowley said in a tone she'd heard way too many times when it came to her actual father. "Just because you can't die while I'm possessing you, doesn't mean you can't get hurt."

"Who are you talking to?" One of the smaller vampires spat, his head tilted in a more sinister looking way than Castiel's head tilt normally looked.

"Never mind that, let's just kill her." The youngest looking amongst the trio hissed, his eyes wide as he stared hungrily at Vanessa.

"Relax there, Jasper. Let's just talk this through, huh?"

"Oh because talking worked so well the last time you did it." Crowley muttered. After all, had she not wanted to "talk" to Dick Roman, the wouldn't be in this position in the first place.

"I will exorcise you." Vanessa warned, her eyes glancing upwards as if she was looking at him before they found the vampires again. Hopefully she could just bore them to death by seemingly talking to herself.

"Enough games, just lay down your arms and we'll make this quick." The leader hissed, crunching a twig under his foot as he stepped closer to Vanessa.

Or perhaps boring them was out of the question.

Deciding he couldn't resist the temptation any longer, the youngest ran for Vanessa, leaping over a large rock as he did. Vanessa practically yelped before she swung her weapon blindly and by some minor miracle, the vampires head rolled off his shoulders as his body landed before her feet.

"Well shit." Vanessa mumbled in satisfaction as she turned her blood glistening weapon in her hand. "This ain't all that hard... Alright, who's next?"

The second vampire decided he would take his chance, however he soon ended up the exact same way as his little friend had. Dead.

Vanessa honestly wasn't sure if she was naturally a good hunter or if Crowley was somehow helping her or perhaps it was just the luck of the Irish, as Dean called it. But whatever it was, she didn't care. However when the third, and biggest, vamp of the group took his shot, that luck seemingly ran out.

Her back hit the ground with a thud, sending a shooting pain across her shoulder blades. The vamp held her arms by her side as she fought under him, his fangs protruding from his mouth once again as he took a deep breath.

"You smell different." He mumbled, the presence of something inhuman lurking in the scent of her blood.

"Oh, yeah, I'm currently possessed by a demon." Vanessa replied, in a strangely causal tone given her situation, but she hoped the mention of her little roommate might make the vamp less inclined to drink her blood.

"Interesting... Never had demon blood before. Wonder what that tastes like."

Or maybe it wouldn't.

With his fangs just mere centimetres away from Vanessa's neck, the vampire went flying off her as he was tackled to the ground. The whole scene had been like a blur and before Vanessa even registered what had happened, the vampire was dead. And standing next to his dead body was someone she was very, very glad to see.

"Benny. Thank God." Vanessa exhaled, her head falling back onto the ground for a second as she got her breath back.

"Do we know each other?" Benny asked, that all too familiar accent proving as a comfort for Vanessa in this literal nightmare.

"Benny? As in Dean's vampire friend? That Benny?" Crowley asked, recalling hearing that name as he snooped around inside her head.

"More like, I know who you are." Vanessa chuckled nervously as she pulled herself to her feet, dusting some dirt of her jeans despite them already being ruined. "And let me just say, I've been hoping to run into you since we got here."

"We?" Benny questioned, looking around him and expecting a second human to pop out from behind a tree.

"Oh, I'm housing a demon at the minute... But it's nothing to worry about, he's a... good demon."

"Good?" Both Benny and Crowley said in unison, the latter seeming offended over the description.

"Never heard of a good demon before." Benny continued, spitting some blood from his mouth before he wiped it with his sleeve.

"It's a long story." Vanessa replied, bending over to pick up her discarded weapon before she straightened. "Basically... My name is Vanessa and I'm from the future."

"The future?" Benny questioned, his eyes squinting a little as he tried to get a read on the rather small girl before him. One who'd just taken down two vampires, who were taller than he was, single handedly... Unless the demon in her head had something to do with it, he wasn't too sure.

"Yep... Perhaps I should start at the beginning." Vanessa sighed out, taking a seat on a tree stump next to her where she began to tell Benny everything about herself. And everything she knew about him too, as a way to convince him she wasn't lying.

It seemed as though Benny believed her, especially when she mentioned the whole thing with his great-granddaughter. Vanessa didn't know much about that episode as truthfully she normally skipped it, but she knew enough to convince Benny she was telling the truth. And he was rather surprised to hear how his role in her alternate world TV show had gone.

"I get out of this godforsaken place only to end up right back here again?" He more stated than asked, Vanessa nodding her head in response.

"You were helping Dean out, helping him save Sam... And when the time came where you had the chance to escape again, well you said you didn't quite fit in out there in the real world. But to me it just seemed as though you weren't getting the support you needed in order to do so."

"Did ya'll ever see me again?"

Vanessa shook her head, gently, but enough that Benny knew what that meant. It wasn't hard to figure out that it meant he'd died in here, and permanently this time.

"But if you help me get out of here, I can help you." Vanessa said softly, watching as Benny looked up from the ground towards her. "I can help you get the support you need to live amongst us. I can make it so you never need to worry about blood, or hunters or anything... You just need to say the word and it's done."

"How can you be so sure?" Benny asked, curiously. He was having a hard time believing that this young girl could have so much pull in the world out there to offer him so much, but yet he still believed her. Whether it was just because he wanted to believe that he could live peacefully or whether she just had that comforting nature to her, he wasn't sure.

"I have some of the best hunters in the world in my corner... The King of Hell inside my head... Two angels in my back pocket and I'm a prophet of the Lord, I think I can swing it." Vanessa said with a chuckle, making Benny smile a little as he pondered her offer. "What'll it be?"

"Well when you put it like that, how can I say no?" Benny chuckled out, holding his hand out towards her. "You got yourself a deal, Nessie."

"Nessie, huh?" Vanessa repeated humorously as she shook his hand, feeling that he wasn't putting his full strength into the shake, thankfully. He'd have broken her hand had he done so.

"You don't like nicknames?" Benny asked, adjusting the hat on his head that had been knocked off during his scuffle.

"No, I do... It's just, there's only one other person who calls me Nessie."

"Oh yeah, and who might that be?"

"Lucifer." Vanessa said casually, making Benny laugh a little and mumble something along the lines of 'yeah right' under his breath. "No, I'm dead serious. I have some of his grace inside me which means he visits me in my dreams... It's there that he calls me Nessie."

"Well aren't you just full of surprises." Benny scoffed a little, shaking his head and not quite believing the wild life in which Vanessa lived. But given how wild it was, he knew no one could make that up. "So, I'm guessing you know all about the seam created to get humans out of here?"

"I do." Vanessa nodded, passing Benny the weapon as she figured it was better in his hands. "But that's not what I'm looking for... There's another way out of here, a way into Hell... But I just can't seem to find it."

"You want to go into Hell?" Benny asked, his eyebrow raised a little.

"Aye, I do." She nodded back. "I'm hoping that being there will help strengthen Crowley, that way he can teleport again and it'll make getting to your body, and getting me home, a lot easier."

"Crowley? He the demon you got inside your head?"

"Aye, at least I think he's still there... He's been rather quiet which isn't really his thing." Vanessa chuckled, glancing up a little as if looking at Crowley. "You still up there, your majesty?"

"Unfortunately." Crowley replied, in the middle of going through everything Vanessa had seen about this Benny character. He needed to know himself whether he was trustworthy or not and from what he'd seen, the answer to that question was yes.

"He's still there, and cranky as ever." Vanessa breathed out, knowing that if Crowley could roll his eyes, he would. "Now, this portal... I need to find the river."

"Well you're going the complete opposite direction then." Benny chuckled out, using the weapon to point in the right direction. "You wanna go that way, you'll find your river there."

"Are you for real?" Vanessa scoffed out. "I wasted three days going in the opposite direction? Why doesn't that surprise me...? Oh, I am so glad I bumped into you."

"You and me both, kid." Benny replied with a smile, landing a hand on her shoulder. "Now, shall we get a move on?"

"Aye aye, captain." Vanessa said with a salute, making Benny chuckle to himself and already find that she was growing on him.

"Strange how you're such a likeable person when it comes to the so called, villains and bad guys in your story." Crowley said questionably as they headed in the direction of the river. "It wouldn't at all surprise me if Asmodeus grew equally fond of you and just hand Gabriel over to you."

"God, I hope so." Vanessa replied out loud, noticing how Benny's brow furrowed a little until he realised she was probably talking to the demon in her head. "I still don't know how we're going to kill him... Especially since you gave two of the only weapons capable of doing so to his brother."

"Well, excuse me for trying to keep the peace amongst demons." Crowley scoffed, ignoring how Vanessa repeated what he said only in a mocking tone. "And how was I supposed to now his reckless, idiot brother would go and kidnap an archangel to regain his strength."

"Common sense, maybe... Have you ever tried that?" Vanessa said sarcastically, making Benny laugh a little next to her, and she looked over at him. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just... You'd think you were talking to a family member or something, not a demon... Let alone the King of Hell." Benny chuckled, admiring the nerve Vanessa must have to speak to a demon that way.

"Well he has kind of named himself my unofficial demonic dad, so you're half right." Vanessa replied with a shrug of her shoulder, not listening to Crowley who was rambling on inside her head. "Once you get out of here, you'll find that we're all one big dysfunctional family."

"As long as non of these so called, best hunters you mentioned try to behead me, I look forward to it."

"Trust me, they won't bother you one bit once I deal with them... Believe it or not, they're a little scared of me." Vanessa added in a whisper, as though those she talked about could hear her.

"Oh I do believe that." Benny chuckled, the two of them stepping over some fallen trees as they continued their trek towards the river.

Now that Vanessa had managed to find Benny, or rather Benny had managed to find her, Purgatory didn't seem as bad as it had done. Sure she'd proven somewhat capable of defending herself, but having the one person she'd hoped to find down here with her, well it made the whole experience a hell of a lot more pleasant.

"How'd you end up down here anyway?" Benny asked, curious.

"I killed a Leviathan and he brought me with him." Vanessa sighed, feeling glad she hadn't bumped into any of them while she was here.

"Leviathan, huh? I gotta say, you're a lot tougher than you look."

"I'm Irish, it's in our blood." Vanessa joked back, although there was some truth to that statement. "But truthfully I just caught him by surprise, it was a split second decision but it was one I knew I had to take... And because I did, I saved a hell of a lot of people who were supposed to die.

"So, if that means I end up here for however long, then I can live with that... Besides, I wouldn't have met you if I hadn't."

"That you wouldn't, kid. That you wouldn't." Benny said with a smile, already starting to feel very fond of Vanessa, which he didn't find surprising at all given who she called her family. The devil, a demon and some angels? It certainly wouldn't take much for her to win over a vampire either.

Although Vanessa was not looking forward to explaining the situation to Sam and Dean, who she knew would be extra protective over her for a little while once she got out of here. Sam would probably wrap her in bubble wrap and keep her locked in their bedroom... But that was a thought for another time.

For now she just had to focus on getting herself, and Benny, out of Purgatory which meant a lot, and she means a lot, of walking.

-little bonding time with crowley and benny! :')

i really like this chapter so i hope you do too! next chapter will probably be one about what's going on in the bunker... some panicking sam, dean, cas and balthazar me thinks, so yeah... that should hopefully be a fun one!

not sure when it'll be out though as i currently have another ongoing book and a draft in the works, so I usually alternate between this and my other ongoing one so yeah... just bear with me! :)

however... in the meantime, if you're a chicago fire fan... perhaps said ongoing book might be for you? check it out if you are! my other draft is also chicago fire as well, so that'll be starting soon!

but if that's not your thing then I do have two completed crowley books, one being a sequel to the first, so why not check them out?

okay, bye! see you when i see you!